Diva Family Disney Adventure

Living in Southern California – I think I delayed our inevitable  first family visit to the Disneyland Theme Park for as long as possible – Lil’ Diva was 4.5 and Lil’ Dude was 3 .  We decided to make our first visit special and stay overnight, allowing us to spend 2 days at the park.

My mom & younger sister were also visiting southern California, making the timing perfect.  Mom had never taken us, needless to say, being able to go with 2 of her daughter and her grandchildren was quite a treat for her.

I knew the kids were going to have the time of their life and while we were there – I wanted to find out what green efforts were a going on at this classic California theme Park – if any.

Turns out I was able to uncover some of the parks effort without even visiting their website:

Lil Dude hasn’t quite discovered his inner speed demon – yet – so one of his favorite rides was the Disneyland Railroad Train.  We rode it a few times.  On one of our rides it stopped to get fuel  Imagine my surprise when the conductor informed us that the steam was generated with BioDiesel collected from the park restaurants. No fancy stickers or pre-recorded promotion, just a mention in passing by the conductor.  Nice.  Can they convert the Race Cars to the same fuel – those are a little stinky!

I noticed  recycling receptacles throughout the park .  These are great – sadly most  people don’t bother to use them or use them incorrectly.  Imagine my surprise when I noticed one of the park employees dumpster diving!

Having recycling receptacles (say that 5 times fast) is one thing, but I happened to walk by when “Cast Member” Verola was emptying trash and  she did something that astounded me… I caught her fishing out the recyclable bottles out of the trash and walking them across the way to the recyling receptacle.  I had to investigate further!  It turns out that Disney donates the money raised by the recyling to charity – and Verola was motivated.  She proudly informed me that it was for the dogs.

 

While we visited the park we took advantage of the fruit stalls located near Pirates of the Caribbean.  It certainly would have been more economical to pack our own fruit, but in the absence good planning it was nice to have a few healthy options to mesh in between the cotton candy and bbq we hit for dinner.

Disney has also set some strong eco milestones.  In the next 2-4 years they plan to cut their emissions by 50%, their electricity use by 10% and lastly they plan to reduce their waste by 50%.  Their long term goal is zero emission and waste.

I would love to see them taking a stronger stance on the impact of Disney products, but overall they are making inroads in many areas, and have set some lofty goals.  I can’t wait to see how close they get to achieving them and in the meantime – we ended up purchasing season’s passes – so the lil’s will be sure to experience more joy at the happiest place on earth.

Welcome back to PND. It's good to see you again!Diva Family Disney Adventure

Diva & Dude on ABC News – Couples in Dispute Over Green Living

Dude and I were recently interviewed by ABC News – The producer found me after I wrote this article “Is Going Green Making Your Spouse See Red” – all about the tension that can be created at home when partners aren’t on the same page.

For the record – Bamboo underwear are super soft and I ASKED him if he wanted them after a company approached me to work with them!

In the event the video feed isn’t working try clicking HERE to read the story.

Image Courtesy of Don’t Smile Now Photography – Thank You Shani!

Diva & Dude on ABC News – Couples in Dispute Over Green Living

Costco Line of Green Cleaners

Costco  introduced a new line of environmentally friendly cleaning products.   It is their own Kirkland Brand – and it’s packaged in 70% recycled material.

The Line Includes:

Liquid Laundry Detergent
Dish Detergent
Automatic Dishwasher Detergent
All Purpose Cleaner

I’ve happily replaced my laundry detergent (method $12 + per 64 load ) with the Kirkland green brand, around $13 for 110 loads. – I like the fragrance, leaves the laundry with a light fresh smell – but not at all over powering.

For all purpose cleaner – I make my own for less than $1 per bottle – but I did buy a bottle to try. I’ll report back once I’ve used it.

The Automatic Dishwasher Detergent works equally well in my dishwasher as the Seventh Generation. The packaging doesn’t the little metal pour spout -which is greener, but I must confess I miss it. It won’t stop me from using this detergent.

Some reviews have said Kirkland Brand is not as green as brand like; Planet and Seventh Generation, but for those of you moving in the green direction it’s a much better alternative than conventional brands, a big step in the right direction by Costco. Not to mention being much kinder to our wallet that other green brands.

Costco Line of Green Cleaners

Child Free & La Jolla Bound

It has been almost 2 years since Dude and I made our last child free escape.  With two children 16 months apart and no family anywhere nearby Dude and I are on our own.

When my In-Laws planned their most recent visit – it became clear that an escape was in order.  An enjoyable trip for Dude requires it to be in range for emergency response and with only 2 days for our escape there was no point in spending it all on the road.  Fortunately, living in Los Angeles beautiful spots dot the map to the immediate north and south of us.

Secretly – I was hoping to find a property working on green initiatives and was delighted to find  numerous hotels making an effort to be more sustainable.  Destination Hotel & Resorts has a green program they call Destination Earth and there are numerous Leed certified properties popping up around the country.

In the end it was a lovely invitation from a Destination Property -  Estancia La Jolla Resort and Spa – that caught my attention and with Dude’s approval we were on our way.

Two words describe my first impression of Estancia La Jolla – understated elegance.  While the property was quite extensive – it felt intimate and uncrowded.  A perfect spot for a romantic getaway.

We drove into a small swarm of Bellhops – we of course had the most charming of the group escort us to our room – let’s call him Ted.  Little did we know this little stroll to our room would flavor our entire weekend.

We’ve stayed at a number of lovely hotels -  and honestly – I couldn’t tell you the name of a single bellhop.  Somehow I think we’ll remember “Ted” for years to come and yes his name has been changed to protect his identity or in this case we don’t want him to get into trouble at work!

As we strolled through the immaculately groomed grounds he pointed us in the direction of all that we would really need to know during our stay – namely the location of bar and spa.

We ended up asking two innocent questions:  1.  How far of a walk is it into La Jolla?  2.  Can we walk to the Beach from the hotel?  More on this later…

Our room had everything we needed – but was on the smaller side.  If you plan on visiting the property and like to spend time in your room – you’ll want to upgrade your room selection.  What the room lacked in size it made up for in tranquility.  Our room was one of the quietest I’ve experienced in a hotel – entering from a courtyard meant no noisy halls.

 

Once we settled in and unpacked we embarked on our first foray and what would become – Adventure One of our La Jolla trip…. stay tuned!

Child Free & La Jolla Bound

Two Fresh Ways to Honor Your Mother

Uninspired about what to do for your mom this Mother’s Day?  Here are two ideas that promise to transcend typical offerings – they are gifts that will keep giving and will truly make a difference in the lives of the recipient.

Instead of sending another box of candy full of calories she’d rather avoid or flowers that will wilt in days, consider a gift that will make an unmeasurable difference in the life of someone on the other side of the world.

I can’t think of a better way to honor your mother than to help another.

Make a difference in the life of a Refugee

The International Rescue Committee has created a program that will allows you to honor your mother and make a real difference in the life of a refugee family.

For example with $24 you can purchase a safe birthing kit for a refugee mother, which includes vital supplies for a safe home delivery in a conflict zone, plus a blanket and clothing for a newborn other gifts are available and pricing start at $18:

• Mosquito nets for a refugee family in Africa – $18
• Pre-natal care for a new mother living in a war zone – $52
• One year’s education for an Afghan girl – $52
• A farming kit, including seeds and tools, to help a family grow food – $60
• Summer school for a newly arrived refugee child in the U.S. – $100
• Job training for a refugee to help her become self-sufficient – $330

Purchase one of these options and the International Rescue Committee(IRC) will send the honored mothers a beautiful, personalized Mother’s Day card in the gift-giver’s name.

The IRC has been helping refugees since 1933 and you can shop with confidence knowing that 90% of all the funds they raise goes directly to fund programs and services.

Finance an Entrepreneur Around the World

If you want to let your mother choose who she wants to help – send her a gift certificate to Kiva.org.  I first heard about Kiva on Oprah and what they do is pretty extraordinary.  They enable individuals to lend money to entrepreneurs across the globe.

Your mom will be able to browse through profiles of entrepreneurs from around the world, she’ll be able to decide who to fund with her gift certificate, and the best part – when the loan is repaid she’ll be able to fund another entrepreneur.

What I love about Kiva is they give people the tools they need to be able to create a sustainably better life.  I’ve made several loans and have had all of them repaid – which is fun because then I can chose another person to fund!

I know for some – it might be a stretch to think about not sending a gift that mom can hold & touch – but this might just be more tangible than most options we would typically consider.

Two Fresh Ways to Honor Your Mother

Child Free & La Jolla Bound: The Very Long Walk

Part 2 – read part one here.

Where were we?  Dude and I had just checked into Estancia La Jolla for our first weekend getaway in almost 2 years.

After settling in we made a beeline to the bar – Mustang’s & Burros – for what might have been the best nachos Dude and I have ever eaten! Seriously. The atmosphere couldn’t have been better – we managed to to snag prime seats in front of the gorgeous outdoor fireplace.

Tip

Be sure to check out their happy hour specials – they had a cheese platter for $9 on Friday and the other offers looked appealing.

Don’t make your drink “a double” or you’ll find the priciest margarita’s I’ve seen anywhere at $22 each!

At the beginning of this story we’d asked “Ted” how far it was to walk into town?   He told us it was about 2 miles.   So… after leisurely drinks and stuffed with nachos we decided a walk into town for dinner.

It was a perfect night for a walk – the sun was setting – the conversation easy.  Wild nasturtiums were everywhere -  for some reason this fascinated me.  About an hour into our “2 mile walk” we started noticing that we weren’t even close to town … as a matter of fact we can see “town” on the other side of the bay.

Our relaxing evening stroll to dinner – over 2 hours long.  For some reason I found myself humming the Gilligan Island theme song.  I was grateful for the practical flats I’d chosen to wear yet wished they were sneakers and secretly wondered if “Ted” had known we were going to order nachos that night and intentionally underestimated the mileage in consideration of my waistline.

After wandering through town looking at restaurants we settled on Vigilucci’s an Italian Restaurant with a large outdoor patio, great atmosphere, live music and a stunning view.

I wish I could say the food was equally impressive – both Dude and I were a little disappointed.  I like garlic, but my pasta had enough to keep away more than a few vampires and Dude’s meat had to go back for a little extra time.  The restaurant wasn’t the only one struggling.  I somehow managed to send a shrimp tail flying across the room -  if anyone noticed they didn’t say a word.

We focused on enjoying our wine – which was chosen because the Vineyard and Lil Diva share a name and the winery was local.

We made our way back to the hotel, marveling the entire taxi ride at just how far we had walked.  We finished the evening with another glass of wine at Mustangs & Burros before turning in for the night.

I don’t have to tell you how nice it was not to be woken the next morning by children crawling on top of us for the first time in forever!

While I caught a few extra zzzz’s Dude went off to read the paper, and have an early breakfast.

Stay tuned for our hike to the beach… “Ted’s” way.

Child Free & La Jolla Bound: The Very Long Walk

Earth Day Money Saving Eco Friendly Tips

For Earth Day – I decided to put together a few of my favorite green money saving tips.

You’ve switched out your florescent light bulbs, sealed your drafty windows and bought energy efficient appliances when you updated your kitchen.  What else can you do?  Well the truth is there are countless things you can do.

Paperless Paper Towels

Create a paperless paper towel system – it costs very little to set up and will save many dollars over the course of a year!

Foaming Hand Soap

Make your own foaming hand soap – with hand soap ringing in at $3-5 per bottle – it doesn’t take long for this to pay off – readers will benefit by having a triclosan free hand wash – not using, disposing, transporting and manufacturing of about 50 containers per year and they will save about $180 a year.  Multiply that by the size of your community and you get the idea of the impact this small step would have if every family did this!

Waste Free Lunches

Pack Waste Free Lunches – Send your children to school with waste free lunches and if this seems overwhelming for you to go waste free for your own lunches, take baby steps.  Start with a goal of 2 lunches per week and build from there!

Bonus – BYOB

Bring Your Own Bottle – If you aren’t already doing this – why not?  It’s easy, good for the environment and you’ll save money too!  Don’t like the stainless – try glass.  They are heavier to carry, but extremely durable (think – bounce off concrete) and dishwasher safe.

I selected these things because they require very little investment, and have a quick payback.  Once you get in the habit you’ll be saving a little green and living a little greener.

Nothing on this list is monumental – they are all little things.  Little things that added together and multiplied can grow into a meaningful difference.

Earth Day Money Saving Eco Friendly Tips

Green Your Toddlers: Easy ways to teach your child be green

The toddler years seem to be filled with waste.

I’m saddened by the food that we waste in our home daily. Did you know we throw out enough food to feed 49 million people every year? Not to mention water, supplies, diapers, birthdays and so on…

My children are toddlers, but we have started to teach them, begun to plant seeds of awareness.

Awareness that they shouldn’t be wasteful, awareness that what they do in their home impacts beyond them.

Opportunities for teaching children to conserve are endless and can be implemented throughout our daily lives as they arise and as is appropriate for the age of your child.

As I’ve searched for ideas to “green our toddlers” I’ve found many ideas and lots of cool lists. What I haven’t found as readily is what people are doing in their homes – real life experiences.

So this post talks about things that you can do with your child. When you finish reading the ideas – click through to find out how we work these ideas into our daily lives.

Take what works for you and build from there!

1. Water – teach them to use less.
2. Teach them to recycle.
3. Teach them not to be wasteful.
4. Buy quality and teach them to take care of what they have.
5. Teach them not to litter.
6. Drink water from a cup or reusable water container.
7. Turn off the lights, unplug the “stuff”
8. Donate – when you are done with something donate to a worthy organization
9. Waste free lunches.
10. Recycle your batteries safely and/or switch to rechargeable batteries.

Other places to look for ideas:

Kids National Geographic
Naturally Savvy

Green Your Toddlers: Easy ways to teach your child be green

Bottled Water: Save Real Green

I’ve already written an article on why using a water filter is one of your best options for safe drinking water.  You may not be worried about the environmental impact of bottled water, that daily 60 million wattle bottles end up landfills – you’re just thirsty and want a drink of water. Let me appeal to the bottom line.

In this economy people are watching their budgets.

Let’s examine how much an average family of 4 is likely to spend annually on drinking water:
$ 200 – Using a water filtration system.
$ 520 – Home water cooler delivery.
$ 528 – 2 Gallon Jugs
$ 1755 – Drinking 3 bottles of water a day at a cost of .40 per bottle, 4 person family.

There are many cost variations. Clearly the brand you buy, how much you pay per bottle, how many bottles you drink each day… all of these factors will impact your annual cost. Use this link figure out how much your family is actually spending, this link also provided me figures that I used for the above calculations.

If you rent don’t despair, there are many portable water filtration systems available in the marketplace.

In some ways it is less convenient to use stainless steel, you have to keep the bottles clean, round them up, fill them up… but I’ve never been a fan of lugging heavy flats of water!

An average family of 4 can save $1555 per year eliminating bottled water. Add the dollar savings to the environmental impact of bottling plants, trucking, refrigeration, not to mention disposing of billions of bottles a year and perhaps you will reconsider grabbing that next plastic bottle of water.

CLICK HERE to see the great selection of stainless steel water bottles available at Amazon.

Bottled Water: Save Real Green

Diva Review: Ratana Eco Salon in Hollywood

My husband has been asking me for ages to go back to the Auburn Hair Color I was when we first met.  I stopped coloring my hair when I was pregnant with Lil’ Diva.  After she was born and I’d learned even more about the toxins in hair coloring – I was happy to avoid the exposure and keep my natural color.

Little did I know – there are other options.  You can find salons that offer beautiful color with dramatically safer color options.

Today I visited Ratana Salon – A hidden gem in West Hollywood off La Cienega just south of Santa Monica Blvd.  You even enter the salon off the back lane!

You won’t find any hustle or bustle here – instead you’ll meet Ratana, possibly her sister, Suchana, and be soothed with zen-like music in an intimate Spa like atmosphere.  There is one station for one  client, and the first thing I noticed after walking into the salon was the absence any chemical smell.

Ratana began the process of becoming a greener salon a year ago -  they’ve come a long way in that time.  After working as a salon owner and stylist for over 20 years, she decided to change over to a less toxic coloring system because the traditional chemicals were making her sick.

The color process she uses – Organic Color Systems – employs heat  to open the hair follicle and prepare it for the color.  Traditional coloring uses ammonia.  This system does take a little extra time – so if you decide to try it out be sure to allow 2 hours for your color process.

Ratana offers Organic Care Systems hair care line and Eminence Organic Skin Care .

Ask for tea or coffee and you’ll get an organic offering – right down to the organic cream… and… oh… it will be served in a real mug.

A trip to the powder room and you’ll find the paper products are 100% recycled.

Ratana decided we should try a semi permanent process on my hair  and successfully transformed me into an Auburn Diva once again.  Semi permanent is a great choice for those who don’t need to cover gray and want to have less pressure to “get your roots done.”

Whether you live in Los Angeles or not – if you color your hair it may be time to ask your stylist to make a few changes or find an Eco Salon in your area.  When I asked my personal stylist why more salons aren’t offering organic options – he said when it comes to beauty women just don’t care.  I truly hope this isn’t true.

Ratana Salon
916 1/4 N. La Cienega Blvd.
(enter thru La Cienega alley)

Phone: (310) 659-2239

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Diva Review: Ratana Eco Salon in Hollywood

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